December 2022 Update - Mbila dzamadeza; Karimba & Mbira dzavazimu tunings

[Stefan Franke]

Dear SR users,

it's been a while... I hope you are all doing well and had a nice festive season! Quite a bunch of things worth reporting have piled up. Here's the lastest (and not so latest) news:

Mbila dzamadeza

It's my great pleasure to welcome the eight type of mbira on SR - the mbila dzamadeza of the Venda and Lemba people in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province, South Africa. A close relative of the Mbira dzavadimu, but with some key layout differences. There are two subtypes that look like mirror images, so one might initially assume versions for physical left- and right-handers. However, the layouts differ significantly, so that a connection with physical handedness is questionable: With the bass-on-left type, the lower and middle manuals (counting from below) both begin with the 1-5-4-6-7 sequence known from the mbira dzadzimu.

With the bass-on-right type, all three registers increase stepwise 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. This makes it one of the most "regular" mbira layouts. Many instruments omit one or more of the lower bass keys, and occasionally there are extra manuals at the top. There is also one bass-on-left specimen with a stepwise ascending B manual.

This description and the notations on SR are the synthesis of approx. 15 bass-on-left and 5 bass-on-right layouts from the ILAM archive, which also suggests that the b-o-l type is more widespread. Both types are represented on the website as separate instrument classes "Mbira dzamadeza" and "Mbira dzamadeza (bass on right)".

This project would not have happened without the initiative of Ian Garrett, who compiled the layouts from the archive material and wrote the Help page texts. In the next few weeks he will be putting the rest of Andrew Tracey's transcriptions of around 3 dozen of deza pieces online. Thanks a lot, Ian!

Unfortunately I only recorded three instruments at ILAM (I believe there were more), two bass-on-left mbilas, and one bass-on-right. Check them out on SR or click on the images for my usual social media video clips and more details:

              

Karimba tunings

As part of my ongoing focus on Mozambican mbiras (see next mail), I have put some more karimba tunings from the ILAM Collection online: Three specimens which are almost a century old, plus Andrew Tracey's own instrument. Click on the images for videos and more details:

           

Mbira dzavadzimu tunings

Here are another two interesting mbiras from the ILAM collection:

1. Muchatera Mujuru's mbira

A fascinating bit of mbira history. According to Andrew Tracey's remarks in ILAM's metadata files, it's "... the old type of mhira huru which was played at the Dambatsoko cult centre, near St. Bede's school, S of Rusape. Made by Chaminuka medium Muchatera Mujuru in about 1950, copied from an ancient mbira in his possession, which was said to have been played at Chitungwiza at the time of Pasipamire." "[...] lowest three notes in a different order and not clear if they are tuned to overtone or fundamental, 3 extra keys for left index, sim. to Carl Mauch’s 1870 diagram." "[...] Even Muchatera himself did not really play the three now obsolete L index keys, I remember him just waving his finger over them."

Capturing this mbira's tuning was quite tricky: Many keys, though still firmly in place, would just produce sharp metallic noises. So to hear their tone you either had to pluck them very gently, or push them against the bridge with the other hand - which, as I only noticed later, slightly changed the pitch. Fortunately I had recorded almost all keys with the first method, too, sometimes a dozen times or more. After bringing up the levels of each slice in the audio editor and tweaking their onsets, it now sounds quite natural.

But I think this one-of-a-kind instrument justifies the effort, and I even added a dedicated animation graphics, so it's now really a virtual mbira.

The three left index keys mirror the three right thumb keys: 2" 1" 3. Unfortunately, there seems to be no information how these keys were played. They are also different from the ancient mbira on Carl Mauch's diagram that Tracey mentions, which also has three additional outer keys extending the lower rank. These may [partly] or may not have been played with the index finger; however, Mauch's pitches are also different: 7 6 3.

Only the 3 key (doubling the lowest right thumb key) is the same on Mujuru's and Mauch's, as well as on some Gandanga mbiras (whose LI extra key was added by Sekuru Gora, according to Tute Chigamba). So there seems to be quite a demand to have this pitch available for the left hand...

It's hard to resist speculating about the use of the left index keys, so let me share a few thoughts. If we look at other mbira types that use the left index finger, there are two predominant ways.

On the njari (and as I've recently learned, occasionally even on the mbira dzaVaNdau), the index finger usually plucks together with the thumb. Often in octaves (while adding no harmonic information, this may continue melodic lines in the middle register), and often the double notes on both sides immediately follow each other.

On the matepe, the left index finger often plays a contrasting rhythm, although individual players (Saini Madera) also play the njari way.

If thumb and index keys are to be played together, they must not be too far apart. Maybe that's a reason for the unusual arrangement of the bass keys (3 1 4 instead of 4 3 1) so that the 3's can be played together?

The piece in the demonstration video is Samuel Mujuru's kushaura part for Nyamaropa yeDambatsoko, transcribed by Gerd Grupe. Play it yourself here.

2. TIC 51 mbira dzavadzimu

I very much like the beautiful deep non-diatonic tuning of this mbira from the ILAM shelves, lowest note about an F# (maker unknown). 

Buzzer bar and decoration have been added by Andrew Tracey, says the metadata. Here's a demo video with Virginia Mukwesha's Nyamaropa, transcribed by Gerd Grupe (play here).

Finally, there's a new low E-flat Nyamaropa-tuned mbira from an unknown maker. I bought it from a guy in South Africa who claimed it was made by Leonard Chiyanike. When I asked Sekuru himself and sent him pictures, he denied it. Nevertheless it's excellent craftsmanship and the low pitch goes well with my voice.

All my best wishes for 2023!

Stefan